Improvement in shoe-fastenings



W. P. DSBORNE. Shoe-Fastening.

No. 222,725. Patented Dec. 16, 1879.

xWIW-N 55%# Y INJENTDFL- yg WIVZZI' J' 01716',

ra'rns WILBUR n. osnonnn, or ANsoNIA, CONN., Assienon rro CHARLES A. vnvAL,

OF CAMBRIDGE, AND ARTHUR W. POPE, "OF BOSTON, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHOE-FASTENINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,725, dated December 16, 1879; application tiled October 25, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, VVILBUR F. OSBORNE, of Ansonia, in the county of New Haven and State ot' Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slice-Fastenings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the fastening devices for that class of shoes the opposite flaps of which `are drawn toward each other and held by straps.

Its object is to provide a firm and readilyoperated fasteningr which can engage an ad justing-strap at any part ofits length without respect to any predetermined points of engagement, such as holes, as in old styles of buckles, and to protect the foot ot' the wearer from pressure incident to the operation of the fastening.

Prior to this my present invention it has been customary in the manufacture of buckles to provide the plate which connects the buckle with the strap of the shoe with a series of eyelets or prongs, which in some instances are struck up from said plate or are supplied with staples, rivets, or eyelets, as separate connecting devices, but which in either condition are passed through openings in the strap, or through the plate and strap, and then eyeleted, riveted, clinched, or bent upon the strap, the result being a good and practical means of attaching the buckle with the strap, and which said means, as aforesaid, being well known, will be used in the organization of my improved shoe-fastener.

To complete the organization of my improved fastener, I employ a prominent and important feature that is present in Letters Patent of the United States granted ine July 29, 1879, No. 217,953, said feature consisting of a lever pivoted in or upon ears projecting from the plate of a suspender-buckle frame, said plate being provided with a transverse struck-up ridge or bead, under which said ridge or bead the clam pin g-edge ofthe pivoted lever extends, so as to secure] y fasten in position a suspendcrstrap when interposed between said `lever and plate. These parts being well known, it is designed by this present invention to employ said wellknown means of connecting the attaching-plate to the strap andthe principle of confining` the strap between the pivoted lever and ridged or beaded plate in one structure, whereby is produced a cheap, practical, and durable shoe-fastener.

Mypresent invention consists in a fastener `for shoes composed of a broad base-plate having a rear extension provided with means for its attachment to a strap, and with a transverse bead or ridge at its front edge, and a Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of the same and straps. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a shoe provided with my improved fastening. 1

The letter Adesignates the base of the fastening, and B an extension of the same, provided with prongs c, by which it may be secured to a stop, g, as in Figs. 2 and 3. This extension may, however, be secured to the strap in any known manner.

The letter el indicates ears arranged on opposite sides of the base Aat its front portion, and provided with bearings for receiving the journals or pivots c of a lever-plate, E, the short arm e. of which stands at about a right angle to its long arm e. When this long arm lies against the base A the edge of the short armV stands slightly above and to the rear ot a straight ridge or bead, f, projecting from the `upper surface of the base A along its front margin, the distance between said bead and the edge of the arm being somewhat less than the normal thickness of the adjusting-strap which is to be engaged with the fastening, said strap being shown at g. When the strap is passed, as shown, between the bead f and the edge of the lever, and said edge foreed down upon the strap, the latter will be rmly clamped and prevented from slipping, and it Will be seen that any part of the strap may be so clamped and the adj ustment varied to any desired extent, in contradistineti-on to the old method of adjustment by tongue-buckles and perforated straps,

the variation of the adjust-ment otl which is governed by the distance between the perto` rations, and when the tongue of the buckle is in one perforation the strap may be drawn too tight, While the engagement of said tongue in t-he next inner hole may render it too loose. The seenrin g of the adjusting-strap being attended by pressure upon the entire fastening, as well as upon the lever-plate, I have made the base A of such dimensions as to underlie the entire lever-plate, and with a -broad lat iinder surface, which prevents it from being forced into the shoe-lap in suoli manner as to give pain to the wearer either While the strap is being clamped or afterward.

I do not Wish to be understood as claiming, broadly7 a sheet-metal buckle-frame having its upper portion formed of a continuous plate bent at the ends to form ears, and provided rwith a transverse struck-up ridge or bead, a lever being pivoted to the said ears, and having its elampingedge adapted' to extend under said ridge or bead, as claimed in the Letters Patent issued to ine July 29, 1879, and numbered 217 ,953.

My present invention is a shoe-'fastenin g composed of a broad base-plate, which affords an abutment for the strap and lever, and prevents the shoe-flap from being indented in such manner as to be painful to the foot, and said solid base-plate is formed integral' with a solid rearward extension, serving as a means of attachment to a strap.

An improved fastening for shoes, Sto., oonsisting ot the base-plate having an extension, and provided With the transverse ridge 0r bead and the pivoted lever, said base-plate adapted to be connected or secured in position by suitable means, all constructed and operating substantially as herein shown a-nd set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

.VILBUR F. OSBORNE.

Witnesses:

FRANKLIN BURTON, .ADoLPH W. KING. 

